Ingredients for healthy food access

Sharing some news from our friends over at Chicago Public Schools about their new Farmers Market initiative that launches today! This update comes to us live from the field courtesy of the Chicago Office of Student Health and Wellness: CHICAGO - Beginning in Fall 2016, the City of Chicago...Read more

Reposted with permission by: Kari HamerschlagThe farm bill draft released by the Senate Agriculture Committee last week (April 20) falls far short of the providing farm and food policies Americans want. In a national poll last year, 78 percent said making nutritious and healthy foods more affordable and accessible should be a top...Read more

It’s that time of year to start planning your garden! A garden at school provides an interdisciplinary outdoor classroom where most subjects can be taught. School gardens expose children to how our food grows and create lifelong lessons in healthy eating, caring for the environment, and can even teach business...Read more

Most American schools today are faced with such overwhelming budget difficulties that providing more healthy food options for students is simply not feasible. Unfortunately, not only can a poor diet greatly increase students’ risk for obesity and other health issues, but what students eat can also have profound effects on...Read more

By Chef Ann Cooper & Chef Beth CollinsWhy are potatoes and the proposed meal patterns for school breakfast and lunch making headlines in Colorado?In August Senator Udall and Susan Collins (R-ME) sent a letter to the Senate agricultural appropriators urging them to add language to the FY2012 spending bill that states: ​None of the...Read more

Field Trip: Sustainable Food Purchasing Policy at Large Urban InstitutionsBy: Sunny YoungEarlier this year I started research on Phase II of The Lunch Box. The goal of Phase II is to create tools for schools, districts, states, non-profits, etc. to use in procurement for scratch-cooked menus including USDA commodity foods...Read more

By Sunny YoungThe “Procuring Local and Regional Foods for Schools: Experiences from the Field” workshop included speakers ranging from lawyers to policy advocates to school officials. The workshop allowed each group to explain what they are doing and describe how their actions are getting us closer to becoming a society that...Read more